Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Why Should Anyone Like Your Facebook Page?

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Facebook like

Our nonprofit is considering doing a targeted Facebook campaign for more “likes” and to expand our mailing list. Has anyone used it, and has it worked for you?

Maybe you’ve heard this question before.  Maybe you’ve even been the one who asked it.

But there’s another question that any nonprofit organization should ask before investing more time on Facebook. Why should anyone like your Facebook page?  What’s in it for them?

We’re All Busy People

Remember that people are busy.  Even if they know you–even if they care about the problem your organization is trying to solve–they have limited time.  Spending some of it on you may mean spending less time on their friends.  Or their hobby.  Or sleeping.

Why is liking your page worth their while?  Will you make them smarter?  Will you make them smile more often?  Can they find unique information on your page?  Can they find other like-minded people actively discussing issues that interest them all?

What to Do First

Before going for more likes, take a hard look at the Facebook page you have.  If very few people have liked or shared your posts, and almost no one has commented,  does your base of supporters find it useful now?

If you’re not sure, ask them. That might give you the information you need on how to attract new supporters. It will surely tell you how to get your current supporters more engaged.  Because you want more than “likes.”  You want a page that people can’t wait to visit again!

Here’s a few ideas that might make your Facebook page a magnet for supporters:

  1. Post a provocative question, and prime a couple of your supporters to respond to it right away. Once they get the ball rolling, more people who follow your page may join in.
  2. Do a poll, and promise to let everyone know the results. (Again, plant a couple of quick responders in your audience.)
  3. Get someone who’s well-known in your community to tell the story of when your services (or services like those you offer) saved their life. Get local journalists to cover the story too, including the link to your page.

Frankly, it’s a waste of time trying to get new people to like your page until you have more reasons for them to come back to it regularly. “Because we want them to participate in our auction” is YOUR reason. You have to find THEIRS.

Use Social Media to Set the Mood for Giving

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Giving to charity, word cloudOnce your appeal letter is in the mail, what can you do to help donors decide to give?

Reaching out directly through the phone or by email is a good idea… especially if you make your calls and emails warm and personal.

The Wrong Way to Use Social Media

For most organizations, asking directly for money through social media is not a good idea. Here’s why.

Picture yourself on Facebook. What are you doing there? You went online to catch up with your friends, and perhaps to see a meme that would amuse or outrage you. You didn’t go to Facebook to do business. And that includes giving away money.

There are exceptions. If you’ve tried asking online before and it worked for you, congratulations! If you want to experiment with fundraising via social media, ask for donations for a specific cause, with an immediate impact. Think of it as crowdfunding.

In general, though, “making the ask” is the wrong way to use social media to back up your end-of-year appeal. There is a better way.

Put Your Donors in the Mood for Giving

in a giving moodA donation is an act of love…and like other acts of love, it goes better if you set the mood. Too bad you can’t offer your donors a glass of wine, a fireplace, and romantic music on social media!

But here is what you can do to make them feel like giving:

    1. Give their pleasure your full attention. Between now and December 31, post pieces that will make donors feel good about themselves when they give.
    2. Tell stories. Create good memories that you and your donors share. It will bring you closer.
    3. Share the love. Post stories–or even better, videos–of donors like them saying why they love giving to your organization and how it makes them feel.

It Takes Two to Tango

For the donor to feel the love, you have to be feeling it too. And that’s difficult in December. You’re watching the numbers on the end-of-year appeal and worrying about what happens if you don’t meet your fundraising goal. Performance anxiety is making you tense.

May I make a suggestion? Before you write for social media this month, slow it down. Breathe. Think about why you care so much: the good results your organization bring about that makes you want it to succeed.

Now, think about the donor.  She cares about those good results too. You’re together in this. That’s what brought you together in the first place.

You just have to speak the language of love with your donors, and watch them respond.

What a Toddler Taught Me about Communicating

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My nineteen-month-old niece was crying as if her heart would break.

toddlers communicate

What is she saying now?

Her heart was fine, actually.  It was her grandfather’s heart that was cracked open for a triple bypass, in a hospital an hour away.  So her mother had gone to the hospital, and I was spending the day taking care of her.  Alone.

“Honey, what do you want?” I pleaded with her.  And I thought, “If only she could tell me what she’s thinking.”

But she could.  She did tell me.  And your audience is telling you too.  Look and listen to what they do online, and you will find out what they want.

How does a toddler tell you what she wants?

Pointing.  My niece knows the milk is in the refrigerator, the bananas are on the table, and the TV remote is on the couch.  If she points at the table, you know she wants to eat a banana.  If she hands you the remote, it’s time for Bubble Guppies or Sesame Street.

Your audience knows where to find what they want online.  If they’re visiting your website or social media pages often, there’s something there they want.  So, find out where they’re pointing!  The pages, posts, or tweets they visit will tell you what will keep them coming back again and again.

Making happy noises.  My niece laughs, squeals, and talks excitedly in full sentences in a language I don’t understand when something makes her happy.

Your audience likes, shares, retweets, or recommends the content they like the best.  So, listen to their communications with other people to find out what kind of content will keep them gurgling with delight.

Keeping to a routine.  My niece gets up around the same time each day.  Five hours later, it’s time for her nap.  If it’s around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon and she’s rubbing her eyes, I know it’s time to take her to her crib.

Your audience is online at certain times more than others.  Find out their pattern and you’ll know when to post.  They like reading more serious articles at certain hours and they go for distraction at other hours.  Keep track of that and you”ll know what content you should post when.

Listening to You

Oh, my brother-in-law is fine.  Thanks for asking!  And my niece is now three years old, and still adorable (as is her baby brother).

So on this blog, I’m listening to you as intently as I listened to my niece. When most of you readers are online,  in the before-work, after-lunch, and early-evening hours, that’s when I’m posting. And I hope this story made you as happy as a child.

What else would you like to see on this blog?  You could let me keep figuring it out.  If I can do that with a toddler, I can do it with anybody!  But if you’re a grown-up and know how to “use your words,” write me and let me know what you want.

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